Indicating devices of this type for cassettes used in recording/reproducing machines do not only make it possible to ascertain how much tape is still available for recording or replay, but also permit certain recordings to be quickly located on the tape by noting a corresponding position of the indicator during replay, in order to reproduce desired sections of the recording, particularly individual dictations, in arbitrary succession. By noting the position of the indicator at the beginning and end of each recorded section, it is possible, during dictation, to estimate the length of individual dictations, and consequently the required format of a corresponding letter.
In a known cassette for recording/reproducing machines of the aforesaid type, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,170, notations of the various indicator positions may be facilitated by an exchangeable paper strip being disposed along the indicating scale, from which the position of the pointer at the beginning and end of each dictation can be marked by the person who is dictating. It is a disadvantage, however, of this type of notation, that the paper strip must always be replaced, and also, that any pencil or any other writing instrument for marking the paper strip may be lost or mislaid.